What really gets my goat about the apocalypse today is not so much that it is going to happen but that it was announced without any prior consultation with those affetced.

Still it's not the end of the world is it?

Oh hang on....

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M'learned colleague Sherunkle may be on to something here. The good book tells us that in the last days the anti-christ will arise and cause all to accept a mark without which no one can buy or sell , and indeed the acceptance of said mark will cause eternal damnation , burning in fiery pits and gnashing of teeth etc etc.

I suggest that biblical scholars got this wrong. Given the coincidence of the end of the world with recent registry-related shenanigans (ps are there any threads where I could read about this , and could you suggest any TmP'ers with strong views either way ?? ) this was obviously a mis-translation and I posit that it refers to the spawn of beelzebub causing all to recieve some token without which one cannot compete in any upcoming contests.

Is there any person / organisation that would fit in with this scenario ??

Lastly , again biblical tradition suggests that the end of days will be heralded by the archangel sounding the trump ( cornet ?? ). For the sake of clarity , would said archangel be registered with BBBR or BBPL and depending on which would there be grounds for appeal in the event of personal relegation to the sulphurous pyres of torment without end on the grounds of invalid registration documents ?

Further to my post above , if only there was some religious organisation that could provide us with guidance in these matters of weighty theological debate ? One that perhaps has an understanding of brass banding and a sideline of involvement in the contesting world ??

Further to my post above , if only there was some religious organisation that could provide us with guidance in these matters of weighty theological debate ? One that perhaps has an understanding of brass banding and a sideline of involvement in the contesting world ??

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Are you suggesting that a religion runs the brass band world, including contests?

It couldn't be the Salvation Army or Islam - too many banders would leave because of the need/want for a snifter before/during/on stage at/after a contest.

Couldn't be the Church of England as they wouldn't allow women adjudicators.

Couldn't be the Catholic Church as they wouldn't even allow women conductors.

Couldn't be the Quakers, as they promote promote friendship and equinimity amongst its people, toally out of keeping with some of the posts on tMP lately.

Couldn't be the Methodists, as they work to bring congregations together.

Couldn't be the Evangelicals, as they would insist singing was included as part and parcel of the genre. (Bonus though - the most hated piece in the world would no longer be "The Floral Dance", it would soon be "Oh, Happy Day!"

Couldn't be any Orthodoxy as it would insist on holding relevant events 14 days later than everyone else expects.

Couldn't be Scientology because that would just lead to Conspiracy Theorists citing all sorts of s***e on tMP. (Eek - Actually, there are already Conspiracy Theorists citing all sorts of s***e on tMP - maybe John et al are actually mates of Tom Cruise? Note for tMP's lawyers. This is a gag. I am not really implying anything about John or his team's religious inclinations. Of course, if they were rich enough to be scientologists, it's unlikely they'd be banding!)

Couldn't be the Moonies, because that would end up with even the single brass band real saddos being all married off at one time, leaving the movement without any freely available resource.

Couldn't be the Buddhists, as all the competition would be put to one side with the intention of reaching Nirvana, causing a significant proportion of banders to leave.

Couldn't be the Jehovah's Witnesses as few banders would sign up to knocking on people's doors, standing there for hours trying to convince them to join the movement.